The present invention relates to a device for coating objects, in particular for the alternating production of metal coatings and gas discharge (glow) polymerization coatings for electrical capacitors. At least two vacuum chambers are provided which are separated from one another by air locks, and also a transport device is provided which is able to transport the objects to be coated such as capacitor carriers or films through a separate air lock from a first vacuum chamber into a second vacuum chamber and back again. In the vacuum chambers, devices for coating the carriers are provided. The air locks contain jaws or blocking sections which are arranged directly opposite the transport device and leave only a narrow gap with respect to the latter. A suction tube serving to withdraw the residual gas is arranged between two jaws of an air lock.
A device of this kind is disclosed in German AS 10 09 883, incorporated herein by reference. Only one metal layer is applied there, however, and feed rollers are arranged in the second vacuum chamber. The two air locks of this reference each have three jaws of equal length. Here "length" of the jaws or blocking sections is to be understood as their dimensions along the transport device. Thus it determines the length of the diffusion path for the gas from one chamber into the other. The air locks of the above reference cover a large part of the transport device which in the reference consists of a drum.